That was how OH described her feelings when asked about the very floriferous tuberous begonia plants in colour around the house.
"The flowers are large and soft, and when they fall, they go to mush very quickly" was the follow up explanation.
Fair enough. That's part of the reason I grow them. Depending on the variety, tuberous begonia produce bright flowers, and with the upright varieties I have, large flowers.
And, there are some trailing ones too, producing flowers that have a lovely hanging effect, great for window boxes and containers.
Growing them is easy. In mid-Spring you plant the tubers into pots, placing them just beneath soil level and bring on in a warm sheltered environment, until all chances of frost have finished. Harden them off and continue to look after them, watering, feeding, etc. Or, buy them ready grown in your local nursery or garden centre.
I plant into them containers although many people plant them into beds and borders.
Mine typically come into flower in mid-July and will continue until first frosts. I regularly water and dead-head, with occasional feeding. At first frosts, remove foliage to within 4-6 inches, lift the tubers and store over Winter in a dryish medium (I use compost) in a frost free position.
Easy.
The picture below is from a recent visit to the Botanic Gardens, and you can see just how impressive the trailing ones are.
Happy gardening.
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